Mammoth’s Dylan Guenther out 2-4 weeks with upper-body injury

The Utah Mammoth could be without one of their top forwards for up to a month.

On Wednesday, the Mammoth announced that winger Dylan Guenther has been placed on injured reserve and will be out two to four weeks with an upper-body injury.

Additionally, center Logan Cooley is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and defenseman Nate Schmidt has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 5 due to an upper-body injury.

Winger Kailer Yamamoto has been activated off of injured reserve after having an upper-body injury, and winger Daniil But has been recalled from the Tuscon Roadrunners of the American Hockey League (AHL). Both forwards drew into the lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The exact cause or nature of Guenther’s injury is unclear, but he missed practice on Monday for what was classified as “maintenance”, and Utah head coach Andre Tourigny described him as “pretty banged up.”

Guenther, 23, has six goals and six assists for 12 points in 18 games played this season. Last season, the Edmonton native broke out with 40 goals and 33 assists for 73 points in 79 games. He then contributed three goals and two assists for five points in the Mammoth’s first-round playoff loss to the Golden Knights in six games.

Selected ninth overall by the Arizona Coyotes (who would later relocate to Utah to become the Mammoth) in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Guenther is now in his fifth season in the NHL, having shown incremental improvement each year. He is now in the second season of an eight-year, $57.14 million contract with Utah.

With 21 points through 18 games heading into Wednesday, the Mammoth sit in fifth place in the Central Division.

Following Wednesday’s game in Vegas, Utah will begin a five-game homestand against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.